2013 Legislative Agenda : Getting Things Done

Lyons points out that Congress had flirted with looking at corporate tax reform and lowering the corporate rate, a move Obama supports. Still, whether corporate and individual reform is attacked as either a package or separately, action needs to be taken on both fronts. Many printers are pass-through entities and S corporations, paying at the individual level—so both individual and corporate conversations are of great interest.

“We want to make sure there’s parity in how corporate and individual reforms are addressed,” she says.

The fiscal cliff deal included a laundry list of tax extenders renewed for one year, including the 50 percent bonus depreciation, and the research and development tax credit.

Postal Service Reform

You have no idea how close we came to providing a “Dewey Defeats Truman” level of misinformation when it comes to reporting on postal reform for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). Finally giving Mr. ZIP a new, much-needed ‘do seemed a fait accompli, but an 11th-hour deal never materialized. Apparently, Congress was busy on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day addressing the bigger “cliff” hanger.

But let’s not be too quick to blame the tax hostage situation for the demise of meaningful postal reform. After all, the Senate passed a bipartisan bill last April, for crying out loud. But the House, partly lost in the weeds on how to address future worker compensation claims, delayed the process. Still, a reform package worked out in both chambers came oh-so close to reality, according to Lyons, and it would have addressed many of the pressing issues facing the U.S. Postal Service.

Now, Congress must start over from scratch. To a degree, at least. When something finally gets pushed through, and the USPS seems to be able to stay afloat at least until the summer, one thing is for certain. Saturday delivery will be going away. There will be stipulations for certain types of deliveries, but six-day delivery is almost certain to go away.